melsc
Premium Member
- Joined
- Aug 17, 2004
- Messages
- 6,365
- Gender
- Female
- HSC
- 2005
Now I know that is exam seems ages away for you 06ers but I want to get all this out while it is fresh in my memory.
General Information - Before the exam
The Day of the Exam
Arrival Proceedures
The exam
The format of the exam
Tips and resources
General Information - Before the exam
Basically it is the same format that you have at school. About 10 minutes, one-on-one with a teacher and a tape recorder, a few situations and a few conversation questions.
Usually these exams are a little after your trial HSC and are in August- September before the written exam. A speaking an practical exam timetable comes avaliable before the written HSC exam one, you can usually find it on BOS or ask your teacher, they will be notified. IF YOU SEE A CLASH (this would only happen if you do more than one language or have another practical exam) NOTIFY BOS ASAP so they can do something about it.
You will be notified of the exact time and venue about a few weeks before the exam, now dont have a panic attack if they haven't arrived two or three weeks before, I remember getting mine quite late, but if you are concerned get your teacher to ring BOS and find out what the hold up is. This letter will have your student number, venue, time and instructions for the day.
Now my first bit of advice is to arrive early, if it says 10am don't get there later than 9am. Why you ask? Well for beginners it is a CLOSED exam, which means everyone arrives at the same time and must stay there until they have completed their exam so that people don't tell eachother the questions. You go in the order that you arrive. For example I arrived at 9 and was about 20th, people I know who came after 9.30 were about number 100 or more and had to stay there till 12 or 1pm while I was out by 10.30/11.00pm
The day of the exam
Arrival Proceedures
When you arrive you will be given a little card which will have your student number on it, your name, the name of the exam and a number. Whatever that number is, is the order that you will be examined. e.g 10 means you are 10th to be examined. You will be then asked to hand over your mobile, don't worry it will be safe, they take it and give you a ticket and they know exactly who's is who's as they even take down student numbers, they even ask you to describe it at some exam centres. If you don't give it to them and it is found on your person it is a straight up non serious attempt and you will have lost 20% of the possible 100 HSC marks for Italian!
Then you play the waiting game, this is a good time to try and relax and if need be go over your notes, maybe difficult tenses you forget or vocab but the main thing is to remain calm, the calmer you are the better you will do :uhhuh: Have a drink of water and go to the bathroom in this time too. Nothings worse than nerves and a real need to go to the bathroom.
Then someone will come out and explain the procedure. Its important to note that the person examining you that day will not be the person marking you, they just ask you the questions, then the tape is sent off and marked by someone you don't know. This person will explain the format of the exam and all the rules and procedure, try to listen even though you may be nervous, you don't want to miss anything.
Then they will call out numbers, this is the number on your card. Take all your stuff when you leave as you arent allowed back in this room. Make sure you are paying attention, when they call your number they will take you to a room in another part of the school and they will ask you if you know the examiner. If you do, do say something, they are not allowed to examine you and it is easier if you speak up, if you don't the examiner will be sure to say so and it will waste time. All they do is take you to the next examiner, big deal.
Then the person outside will write your student number on a tape, they will then ask you to check it a few times. You then sit and wait for the person to give you the situation sheet, you are sent into a little room and you have 15 mins to look at it and practice, use this time well to sort out everything, go through it a few times and try and perfect things such as agreement, tense and try and be as creative as possible on the open situations. Also use this time for reassurance and to calm down.
The exam
Make sure when they come and get you, you go in with a killer attitude and calm. The examiner will try and make you comfortable and go through the format and procedure of the exam, I just wanted to get to it (esp after hearing this a week ago for another oral exam). Then they will do a test of the tape to make sure it is working, they will then get you to say your student number to the tape, its on that little card if you get nervous and forget and on the cover of the tape.
Then it is the situations, try and remember to say situation 1...situation 2... etc but if you forget its ok, the markers will be able to figure it out. Just go at your own pace and take your time, don't rush. After that is the conversation, the examiner will ask you maybe 3 or 4 questions (which are the same for everyone) which you wont know. You are allowed to ask them to repeat it if you don't understand, do so if you need to its better to ask and then understand it than to risk missing the tense or specifics. I think my questions were
"What do you do on Saturdays?"
"What do you do in Winter?"
"What do you do in Summer?"
and "Do you prefer listening to music or reading?"
Try and use a variety of tenses and idiomatic expressions and think of creative responses.
Then its all over and you get to leave...its the best feeling in the world
Then you have all the time to prepare for the written paper.
The format of the exam
Section I — Situations
Last year this was worth 15 marks and there were three situations. You MUST respond in italian.
the 2005 Situations were:
Question 1 (4 marks)
You and a friend are in a gelateria in Italy.
– Respond to the shopkeeper’s greeting.
– Order ice-creams for you and your friend.
– Tell him the flavours you would like.
– Make a comment about the ice-creams.
Question 2 (5 marks)
You are at the markets in Sorrento.
– Attract the attention of the stallholder and ask the price of an item.
– Express your surprise at the high price.
– Say how much you are prepared to pay.
– Make a decision and tell the stallholder.
Question 3 (6 marks)
A friend from Italy is visiting your school for the day.
– Introduce your friend to your Italian teacher and explain how you met.
– Say why your friend is here.
– Say how long he/she will stay in Australia.
– Say what you plan to do together after school today.
Section I — Situations
Last year this section was worth 10 marks, again you must respond in Italian.
The 2005 questions were:
– Cosa fai il sabato? (What do you do on Saturdays?)
– Qual è il tuo passatempo preferito d’inverno? E d’estate? (What are your prefered passtimes in Winter/Summer?)
– Preferisci leggere o ascoltare musica? Perché? (Do you prefer to read or listen to music? Why?)
– Parlami di una persona importante nella tua vita. (Speak to me about an important person in your life).
2005 HSC Speaking Exam
Tips and resources
Tips
Situations
Preparing for the situations is pretty easy, the best thing to do is go to the boardoftsudies site and you will find in the exams section situations from as early as 1995. HSC exams 1995-2005. Get these and practice them at home, if there is a word or topic you don't know look it up and learn the vocab. Write out what you would say and get the teacher to mark it, then pratice saying it on tape and allow your teacher to mark it so he/she can correct your grammar, accent, vocab etc, it also gives you much more confidence.
The key is accuracy balanced with sophistication. You need to say what is required as accurately as possible that means correct agreements, tense and vocab, don't stress if you make a few little errors, everyone does. Lets take last years first situation. These are my answers and by no way are they flawless, I am just using them as an example of one way to approach the questions and answer them, there are many other and better ways of answering such situations.
I think I said:
Question 1 (4 marks)
You and a friend are in a gelateria in Italy.
– Respond to the shopkeeper’s greeting.
Ciao, scusi, po auitarmi?
There are many ways of saying this, I tried to be a little more sophisitcated by using a indirect object pronoun by saying "Can you help me?" note that I used "Po", remember the polite form, this is very important with situations with strangers! As long as you greeted appropriarely you would have go the marks.
– Order ice-creams for you and your friend.
Vorrei comparare due gelati, uno per me e uno per la mia amica Jackii Note vorrei (I would like) is the conditional tense, it is more correct than saying voglio and demonstrates knowledge of a variety of tenses.
– Tell him the flavours you would like.
Penso che abbia uno gelato fragolo per me, et uno gelato ciocolato per jackii.
Note here I used the subjunctive tense of avere (abbia) because I used 'penso che', the markers like you to use a variety of tenses so if you can and it makes sense give it a go.If you don't know the subjuctive in beginners they don't mind but its a great way to show off Here it is important to watch the agreements especially with the flavours.
– Make a comment about the ice-creams.
Gli gelati sono grandi, non vedo l'ora mangarlo This is an open question so it leaves it up to you to impress, try and go all out. Here I managed an idiom "Non vedo l'ora" is the correct and idiomatic way of saying "I can't wait" (I learnt this in the trials lol) then i added in the object pronoun, with these questions try and show off. :uhhuh:
Remember if you can't remember the exact word or phrasing find a way around it, for example if you forget to say "chocolate is her favorite" say "she likes chocolate" etc anything is better than saying nothing and often alternatives are accepted.
Conversation
This part can be easy for some, harder for others but its all practice. Look at past years questions, write things out, and get your teacher to mark them, then say them to a tape and get the teacher to mark them, again this grows confidence and perfects your accent and grammar.
Practice with your friends, classmates etc even type or voice convo on MSN it all helps and increases your confidence , vocab and accuracy.
My HSC Conversation Preparation Notes
General Information - Before the exam
The Day of the Exam
Arrival Proceedures
The exam
The format of the exam
Tips and resources
General Information - Before the exam
Basically it is the same format that you have at school. About 10 minutes, one-on-one with a teacher and a tape recorder, a few situations and a few conversation questions.
Usually these exams are a little after your trial HSC and are in August- September before the written exam. A speaking an practical exam timetable comes avaliable before the written HSC exam one, you can usually find it on BOS or ask your teacher, they will be notified. IF YOU SEE A CLASH (this would only happen if you do more than one language or have another practical exam) NOTIFY BOS ASAP so they can do something about it.
You will be notified of the exact time and venue about a few weeks before the exam, now dont have a panic attack if they haven't arrived two or three weeks before, I remember getting mine quite late, but if you are concerned get your teacher to ring BOS and find out what the hold up is. This letter will have your student number, venue, time and instructions for the day.
Now my first bit of advice is to arrive early, if it says 10am don't get there later than 9am. Why you ask? Well for beginners it is a CLOSED exam, which means everyone arrives at the same time and must stay there until they have completed their exam so that people don't tell eachother the questions. You go in the order that you arrive. For example I arrived at 9 and was about 20th, people I know who came after 9.30 were about number 100 or more and had to stay there till 12 or 1pm while I was out by 10.30/11.00pm
The day of the exam
Arrival Proceedures
When you arrive you will be given a little card which will have your student number on it, your name, the name of the exam and a number. Whatever that number is, is the order that you will be examined. e.g 10 means you are 10th to be examined. You will be then asked to hand over your mobile, don't worry it will be safe, they take it and give you a ticket and they know exactly who's is who's as they even take down student numbers, they even ask you to describe it at some exam centres. If you don't give it to them and it is found on your person it is a straight up non serious attempt and you will have lost 20% of the possible 100 HSC marks for Italian!
Then you play the waiting game, this is a good time to try and relax and if need be go over your notes, maybe difficult tenses you forget or vocab but the main thing is to remain calm, the calmer you are the better you will do :uhhuh: Have a drink of water and go to the bathroom in this time too. Nothings worse than nerves and a real need to go to the bathroom.
Then someone will come out and explain the procedure. Its important to note that the person examining you that day will not be the person marking you, they just ask you the questions, then the tape is sent off and marked by someone you don't know. This person will explain the format of the exam and all the rules and procedure, try to listen even though you may be nervous, you don't want to miss anything.
Then they will call out numbers, this is the number on your card. Take all your stuff when you leave as you arent allowed back in this room. Make sure you are paying attention, when they call your number they will take you to a room in another part of the school and they will ask you if you know the examiner. If you do, do say something, they are not allowed to examine you and it is easier if you speak up, if you don't the examiner will be sure to say so and it will waste time. All they do is take you to the next examiner, big deal.
Then the person outside will write your student number on a tape, they will then ask you to check it a few times. You then sit and wait for the person to give you the situation sheet, you are sent into a little room and you have 15 mins to look at it and practice, use this time well to sort out everything, go through it a few times and try and perfect things such as agreement, tense and try and be as creative as possible on the open situations. Also use this time for reassurance and to calm down.
The exam
Make sure when they come and get you, you go in with a killer attitude and calm. The examiner will try and make you comfortable and go through the format and procedure of the exam, I just wanted to get to it (esp after hearing this a week ago for another oral exam). Then they will do a test of the tape to make sure it is working, they will then get you to say your student number to the tape, its on that little card if you get nervous and forget and on the cover of the tape.
Then it is the situations, try and remember to say situation 1...situation 2... etc but if you forget its ok, the markers will be able to figure it out. Just go at your own pace and take your time, don't rush. After that is the conversation, the examiner will ask you maybe 3 or 4 questions (which are the same for everyone) which you wont know. You are allowed to ask them to repeat it if you don't understand, do so if you need to its better to ask and then understand it than to risk missing the tense or specifics. I think my questions were
"What do you do on Saturdays?"
"What do you do in Winter?"
"What do you do in Summer?"
and "Do you prefer listening to music or reading?"
Try and use a variety of tenses and idiomatic expressions and think of creative responses.
Then its all over and you get to leave...its the best feeling in the world
Then you have all the time to prepare for the written paper.The format of the exam
Section I — Situations
Last year this was worth 15 marks and there were three situations. You MUST respond in italian.
the 2005 Situations were:
Question 1 (4 marks)
You and a friend are in a gelateria in Italy.
– Respond to the shopkeeper’s greeting.
– Order ice-creams for you and your friend.
– Tell him the flavours you would like.
– Make a comment about the ice-creams.
Question 2 (5 marks)
You are at the markets in Sorrento.
– Attract the attention of the stallholder and ask the price of an item.
– Express your surprise at the high price.
– Say how much you are prepared to pay.
– Make a decision and tell the stallholder.
Question 3 (6 marks)
A friend from Italy is visiting your school for the day.
– Introduce your friend to your Italian teacher and explain how you met.
– Say why your friend is here.
– Say how long he/she will stay in Australia.
– Say what you plan to do together after school today.
Section I — Situations
Last year this section was worth 10 marks, again you must respond in Italian.
The 2005 questions were:
– Cosa fai il sabato? (What do you do on Saturdays?)
– Qual è il tuo passatempo preferito d’inverno? E d’estate? (What are your prefered passtimes in Winter/Summer?)
– Preferisci leggere o ascoltare musica? Perché? (Do you prefer to read or listen to music? Why?)
– Parlami di una persona importante nella tua vita. (Speak to me about an important person in your life).
2005 HSC Speaking Exam
Tips and resources
Tips
Situations
Preparing for the situations is pretty easy, the best thing to do is go to the boardoftsudies site and you will find in the exams section situations from as early as 1995. HSC exams 1995-2005. Get these and practice them at home, if there is a word or topic you don't know look it up and learn the vocab. Write out what you would say and get the teacher to mark it, then pratice saying it on tape and allow your teacher to mark it so he/she can correct your grammar, accent, vocab etc, it also gives you much more confidence.
The key is accuracy balanced with sophistication. You need to say what is required as accurately as possible that means correct agreements, tense and vocab, don't stress if you make a few little errors, everyone does. Lets take last years first situation. These are my answers and by no way are they flawless, I am just using them as an example of one way to approach the questions and answer them, there are many other and better ways of answering such situations.
I think I said:
Question 1 (4 marks)
You and a friend are in a gelateria in Italy.
– Respond to the shopkeeper’s greeting.
Ciao, scusi, po auitarmi?
There are many ways of saying this, I tried to be a little more sophisitcated by using a indirect object pronoun by saying "Can you help me?" note that I used "Po", remember the polite form, this is very important with situations with strangers! As long as you greeted appropriarely you would have go the marks.
– Order ice-creams for you and your friend.
Vorrei comparare due gelati, uno per me e uno per la mia amica Jackii Note vorrei (I would like) is the conditional tense, it is more correct than saying voglio and demonstrates knowledge of a variety of tenses.
– Tell him the flavours you would like.
Penso che abbia uno gelato fragolo per me, et uno gelato ciocolato per jackii.
Note here I used the subjunctive tense of avere (abbia) because I used 'penso che', the markers like you to use a variety of tenses so if you can and it makes sense give it a go.If you don't know the subjuctive in beginners they don't mind but its a great way to show off Here it is important to watch the agreements especially with the flavours.
– Make a comment about the ice-creams.
Gli gelati sono grandi, non vedo l'ora mangarlo This is an open question so it leaves it up to you to impress, try and go all out. Here I managed an idiom "Non vedo l'ora" is the correct and idiomatic way of saying "I can't wait" (I learnt this in the trials lol) then i added in the object pronoun, with these questions try and show off. :uhhuh:
Remember if you can't remember the exact word or phrasing find a way around it, for example if you forget to say "chocolate is her favorite" say "she likes chocolate" etc anything is better than saying nothing and often alternatives are accepted.
Conversation
This part can be easy for some, harder for others but its all practice. Look at past years questions, write things out, and get your teacher to mark them, then say them to a tape and get the teacher to mark them, again this grows confidence and perfects your accent and grammar.
Practice with your friends, classmates etc even type or voice convo on MSN it all helps and increases your confidence , vocab and accuracy.
My HSC Conversation Preparation Notes
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